"Another question we pondered but did not answer conclusively was whether or not to include Contessa 32 owners. Everyone’s thoughts are greatly appreciated." Why not? So many of us have also owned Contessa 26s. Having to part with Dreamspeaker was my only regret in buying Eight Sails. Dreamspeaker's new owner is now crewing for me on race nights, along with the owner of Puffin, a beautiful folkboat.
1 2013-05-25 18:29:47
Re: Minutes from the Nov 1, 2012 Lake Ontario Contessa Association Meeting (2 replies, posted in Lake Ontario Contessa 26 Association)
2 2012-05-28 14:12:40
Re: hard dinghy vs. inflatible (12 replies, posted in Cruising)
I went with a pair of West Marine inflatable kayaks instead of a double (wait for them to go on sale, a real deal), as I mostly singlehand but my wife might take the train and meet me in the Thousand Islands for a day or two. They come in a valise and two of them will tuck up forward between the vee berth and the overhead. You can pass one up through the forward hatch and inflate it in under ten minutes. They are stable enough to step down into and up out of, and paddle surprisingly well--way better than any inflatable dinghy ever rowed. I don't like the idea of filling the side deck between the cabin and the shrouds because it's already hard enough trying to get forward around the dodger without adding another obstacle forward. I always come home from cruise with bruises on my thighs from the lifelines.
3 2010-05-15 18:16:18
Re: False Specification! (11 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Let other sailors than me interpret those facts. Build well and safe voyaging.
John
4 2010-05-14 18:29:05
Re: False Specification! (11 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Regarding the choice of Paul Gartside's design #116 to build, I have to applaud. He has designed so many beautiful and able cruisers, the only trouble is to choose which one.... As for choosing to cross the Atlantic in an unprepared boat, I'm moved to suggest that Contessa may have saved your life.
John
5 2010-05-12 19:42:28
Topic: Launching day in Toronto (0 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
6 2010-05-12 18:18:05
Re: Contessa 26 vs. Halcyon 27 (8 replies, posted in General Questions/Comments)
Contessas are quite tender and like to be reefed early. Put the reef in at the dock, not that it's too hard reefing under way. In 20 knots, you'll certainly need a reef if the wind is forward of abeam, and have an easier time steering if the wind and waves are following. Take it easy, get to know the boat and gear, and enjoy your first trip! You can always shake the reef out if you don't need it.
John
7 2010-05-07 19:26:37
Re: Leading lines aft (10 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
A rectangular stub on the base of the mast steps into a matching recess in the cabin top. The mounting plate for the halyard blocks has a rectangular cut out that fits around the stub. I highly recommend this fitting, rather than drilling a lot of holes and putting deck blocks or pad eyes around the mast. Besides the lead blocks for halyards, reefing lines and topping lift, it attaches the vang and lead blocks for the spinnaker pole lift and downhaul.
I still use the genoa winch on the mast quite a bit. It depends on the size of the sail and whether I'm racing or singlehanding. When racing with the #1 or #2 genoa, I hoist at the mast and belay the halyard on a cleat to keep it from slipping; the rope clutch lets it slip just enough to put a slight pucker in the luff of the sail. When singlehanding with #3 genoa, I hoist from the cockpit. I also rig a light downhaul line to the head of the genoa, run it down through the hanks, and lead it aft along the rail. That way I can raise and lower the sail in seconds without venturing forward.
I always found that Bluenoses pounded hard in a chop. They have a combination of overhang and full, slightly flat bow sections that encourages pitching and pounding. In that respect, I much preferred my family's gaff-rigged, wooden Dark Harbor 17 knockabout, a 26 foot boat of similar appearance but considerably finer ends. With two main halyards (peak and throat) plus the jib, running backstays, no engine, and a swing mooring in a crowded harbor, singlehanding it was an education in boat handling! There were also no winches. One tensioned the halyards by hauling back on the standing parts like a bowstring, then taking up the slack.
In the days when winches were rare and costly, old timers used to rig a small block and tackle, hitched at one end to the standing part of the halyard and hooked at the other to an eye on the deck. This would still work fine and cost a lot less than the gear we need nowadays to "simplify" our sailing!
Regards,
John
8 2010-05-05 18:13:45
Re: Leading lines aft (10 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
I made this very upgrade last season, when the original main halyard winch finally packed it in. I can send you some pictures.
When I bought the boat, there was already a newish Harken winch on the cabin top to port, for the genoa halyard, with organizers and clutches on both sides for genoa, spinnaker, vang, reef 1, reef 2 and topping lift. For some reason the topping lift was lead back to an ordinary horn cleat. I added a matching winch on the starboard side, with a larger organizer and a double clutch for the topping lift and main halyard, and removed the cleat. I now have genoa, spinnaker and vang to port, with reefing lines, lift and main halyard to starboard.
The mast has a formed stainless plate at the step, with "wings" on the four sides for attaching turning blocks. This would be an easy, inexpensive item to have fabricated. Did you say whether your halyards are internal or external? It's easier to change the lead of external halyards.
It's true that you will still have to go forward to hook in the tack of the sail when reefing. However, one goes forward twice every sail to raise and lower the main, whereas trips forward to reef are occasional. I really don't enjoy scrambling forward to hoist and douse when sailing alone in lumpy weather, usually in the shallow water off a harbor mouth where the incoming waves pile up! If the main halyard is marked for the first and second reefs, it can be eased the right amount before leaving the cockpit to hook in the tack. (I've thought about installing a single-line reefing system with cheek blocks on the mast instead of a hook on the boom--has anyone tried this?)
If you're worried about the length of the wire halyard, you could replace it with line. The sheeves at the masthead aren't hard to replace.
The hardware cost does add up. So does the total number of bolt holes you have to drill for the organizer, clutch and winch. If you grind out the core of the cabin top and fill it with epoxy around the holes, which you should, the job will take longer than you think.
One challenge with leading all your lines aft is finding a neat place to stow the coils and keep them untangled. The cabin top under the dodger is a good place.
Speaking of the dodger, if you have one, consider where the lines you lead aft will run in relation to the fastener buttons, and place hardware where the dodger won't interfere with it.
Hope this helps,
John
9 2010-03-26 16:53:27
Re: Does anyone have a pattern for a traveler support? (20 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Captnemo was selling a pair of the traveler mounting brackets Merrell Hall designed for Lucy Ann, so I snapped those up and expect they'll meet my needs. I've been tacking back and forth on the What Traveler? question ever since buying Dreamspeaker six years ago, so this finally commits me to the way of traditional style and simplicity.
If a previous owner made the change and it works, that's one thing, but I see no good reason to convert a stock Contessa to mid-boom sheeting. There are several good reasons not to, and really--except for racing--not very many reasons to install a traveler at all, other than reducing mainsheet chafe against the lifelines and the annoying tendency of the deck blocks to get twisted.
In heavier air, when I'd drop the traveler and dial in some twist to de-power the main, I find the standard bridle sheeting works just fine, and photos of Dreamspeaker going to windward on the race course bear this out. With the vang set to flatten the main, I can play the mainsheet instead of the traveler in gusty conditions and get 90 percent of the traveler's benefits. In lighter air, when I'd like to ease the sheet tension or bring the boom up closer to the centerline to stop the genoa backwinding it, I do want a traveler but don't think the sheeting loads are so great that I need to buy a ball bearing car with complicated control lines (and pay race gear prices) to make those adjustments.
A plain bronze track with a slide and movable stops should be enough. A varnished teak crossbeam will complement the cockpit grating. And the ghost of Francis Herreshoff will haunt me forever if I go and mess up Dreamspeaker's simple gear with some new fangled racer contraption.... So I guess I'll just keep it simple.
10 2010-03-22 17:02:33
Re: Does anyone have a pattern for a traveler support? (20 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
When I bought my boat, there was another Contessa 26 (Lady Gail) on the same dock, that had a mid-boom traveler mounted on stainless brackets across the back of the cabin top. I believe the boom had indeed been shortened a bit. I can't vouch for how well the rig worked but it's been done. It would prevent having a dodger and that makes no sense to me, however.
11 2006-08-11 18:54:31
Re: Head sail comparisons - genoas vs. jib (13 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
Thanks Deb. I don't actually need a storm jib, though, just a working jib to balance the main with two reefs in. I'll probably buy a new Contessa 26 sail from a discount sailmaker. If I ever take on to cross an ocean, I'll add a storm jib sized for the boat.
I find the #2 genoa is neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. The gap it fills between #1 and #3 is minimal, maybe three or four knots of windspeed. In white sail racing, it's just big enough to push the rail under in Force 5 and just small enough to let other boats roll me downwind.
12 2006-08-08 17:03:56
Re: manual bilge pump (15 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
With the nylon diaphragm actuator broken, the diaphragm full of age cracks, and the pump needing conversion before I can rebuild with overpriced parts for another discontinued model -- the writing's on the topsides. Time for a new pump. The old one's not Cape Horn bound, unless found fit to pump rum.
13 2006-08-07 18:27:56
Re: manual bilge pump (15 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
Like others I've seen, my Contessa has a Henderson P7/L Mk III pump, mounted on-center in the lazarette with the handle socket projecting through a slot in the back of the cockpit. My understanding after searching the web in vain for spare parts is that this model was also used in British lifeboats. Regrettably, there seems to be no rebuild kit any more. I also need to replace the flanged, threaded plastic shaft that passes through the diaphragm because part of the flange broke, not enough to make the pump unusable but enough to be scary. So it looks like I'll have to replace the whole pump. Any opinions about the best replacement? The original indeed looks every bit of a lifeboat pump and I don't care to use anything much lighter duty. I'd rather not have to fill and re-drill the back of the cockpit, either, but that's probably hoping for too much.
14 2006-08-07 06:58:02
Re: How old are your sails? (55 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
The Raudaschle sails on Dreamspeaker appear to be original to the boat (1974) and all still set well, especially the fully-battened main.
Buying for long life and not wanting the main to go baggy, I'd buy another fully-battened sail because the battens preserve the shape much better over time and minimize the tendency of the draft to move. You may have to change the nylon straps after years of use, holding the battens in at the luff. They are under strain due to compresssion of the battens and they eventually chafe through. I haven't seen any sign of the pockets wearing through at the leech, however.
Some of the brand-name sailmakers have offshore operations in places like Sri Lanka. North's budget priced Cruising Direct sails are made there, from the same materials as their regular sails, and cost enough less to be worth a look. If you buy a standard Dacron sail with the premium brand on it, chances are it'll be made offshore anyway. In Toronto, North is the successor loft to Raudaschle, and the same sailmaker is still in charge, so I ordered a new 153% North genoa. With the boat show discount, it only cost a couple hundred dollars more than the CD sail and had better details, such as radiussed corner patches instead of triangular. It also has fantastic shape and I've been very happy embarassing C&C 27s with it in light air -- but it was made in Sri Lanka just like the CD sail, not locally. I didn't mind when I unpacked the sail and found that out becase I bought it right after the Tsunami and some money went into an economy that needed it.
Boat show discounts aren't the best discounts you can get. If you have any cash left over at the end of the season (fat chance), that's the cheapest time to buy a sail.
15 2006-08-05 14:35:50
Re: Head sail comparisons - genoas vs. jib (13 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
Dreamspeaker has hanked-on genoas 1-3 (153%, 130%, 110%) and no working jib. I have a J. J. Taylor brochure listing main and #3 as the sail-away inventory and if I only had two sails, I'd go with that. I bought a new #1 for racing and want a 95% working jib for higher wind speeds. With 2 reefs in the main, the boat will carry a genoa but gets a touch of lee helm. Otherwise, #3 is all I would ever need for day sailing and single-handed cruising on Lake Ontario. It will pull in light wind and easily carries to more than 20kts. It sets perfectly without backwinding the main. It points high and goes to windward almost as fast as the #1. I can see under it. I can fold it by myself on deck or a narrow dock. I can tack and trim it flat in 15-20 kts while steering with my foot. With a downhaul rigged, I can drop it from the cockpit as fast as I could roll a furling jib, with no risk of jamming.